North Sea Cruise: Copenhagen

In this first post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Copenhagen, Denmark prior to her North Sea cruise on Crystal Serenity.

Join me as I set out on another amazing adventure with Crystal Cruises! This is the third time I have sailed with Crystal, and each time has been absolutely phenomenal. This voyage sails from Copenhagen to Reykjavik. I started my trip with a couple of days on my own in Copenhagen before embarking on the ship.

North Sea Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Copenhagen. Looking for info on other stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!

• August 5-6: Copenhagen, Denmark
• August 7: North Denmark
• August 8: Kristiansand, Norway
• August 9: Sandnes, Norway
• August 10: Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland
• August 11: Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland
• August 12-13: Tórshavn, Faroe Islands and a sea day
• August 14-17: Reykjavik, Iceland
• August 16: South Coast of Iceland

Making My Way To Copenhagen

I set out on my journey to Copenhagen from my home airport in Tampa, Florida. Of course, I had to stop and get a quick selfie with Phoebe, our gorgeous mascot! From there, I boarded a Discover Airlines flight to Frankfurt. I then took a shorter flight from Frankfurt to Copenhagen on Lufthansa, arriving into Copenhagen on August 4.

Phoenix Copenhagen Hotel

I stayed at the gorgeous Phoenix Copenhagen hotel. It is a beautiful, historic building with a good, central location. It was built in the 1680s and has had many different iterations (including being taken over as a headquarters for the gestapo in WWII).

Nyhavn

After a great night’s sleep in my comfortable hotel room, I set out on the morning of August 5 to explore captivating Copenhagen. My first stop was just a few blocks from my hotel, the pretty old harbor area called Nyhavn.

It was still rather early, so I basically had Nyhavn to myself! I enjoyed peeking around at all of the quaint little cafes and brightly colored buildings.

Walking Around Copenhagen

I continued walking to my main destination for the day, Tivoli Gardens. The walk from my hotel was about a mile, but the gorgeous weather and beautiful sights made it a very pleasant walk. Here are a few shots from some things I passed along the way:

Glyptoteket Museum

My next stop today was the Glyptoteket Museum. It has beautiful displays of Greek, Egyptian, Danish, and French sculptures and paintings.

The Glyptoteket Museum also has a wonderful display of mummies.

I wrapped up my visit to the Glyptoteket Museum by enjoying some more sculptures and the peaceful atrium area.

Copenhagen City Hall

After the museum I walked across H.C. Andersens Boulevard to see the Copenhagen City Hall. There is also a large statue of Hans Christian Andersen here, and he is gazing across the street at Tivoli Gardens.

Tivoli Gardens

I arrived at Tivoli Gardens and started making my way through part of the large park. There are some gorgeous areas throughout the park, filled with colorful displays, pretty flowers, and whimsical decorations.

Shortly after arriving at Tivoli, I got sucked into the Musical Labyrinth. They have a full orchestra performing a series of themed mini-concerts in an open tent. The best part: you can walk in and around the tent as they perform! Such a cool experience.

Tivoli Gardens is part amusement park and park gardens. I had a great time wandering through the entire park!

I also ate quite well here at Tivoli Gardens today. Lunch was at a nice sit-down restaurant for a delicious shrimp and egg Smørrebrød (a traditional open-faced sandwich that usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread topped with meat, fish, cheese, spreads, and garnishes). Later, I stopped at Cakenhagen (I simply could NOT resist a place with such a name!) and had a delectable raspberry cream puff.

Kastellet

The next day, August 6, started off by exploring the Kastellet. This is a 17th century fortress in Copenhagen. This large park was a great place for an early morning walk.

While walking around Kastellet I also got my first glimpse of the ship in the near distance! I continued exploring the rest of the park and soaking in the sights.

Amalienborg Palace

Next up this morning was a visit to Amalienborg, the official residence for the Danish royal family. The sprawling complex is actually four identical Classical facades, which were originally built as four separate palaces, around an octagonal courtyard. I then spent some time exploring the museum here.

The museum at Amalienborg Palace is really well done. There are many rooms you can walk through, and the included audio guide provides some good information about the history of the Danish royal family.

Frederiks Kirke

Across the street from Amalienborg Palace is the beautiful Frederiks Kirke (Frederick’s Church). I stepped in for a few minutes to admire the soaring domed ceiling and beautiful altar.

Changing of the Guards

I then headed back across the street to see the daily changing of the guards ceremony at Amalienborg Palace.

Conclusion

My North Sea cruise from Copenhagen to Reykjavik got off to a fantastic start with a few days on my own in Copenhagen, Denmark. I had visited Copenhagen a few years ago, on a stop on my Fabulous Fifty birthday cruise. However, one day simply is not enough time to see and explore this fantastic city, so I was delighted to get back and spend some more quality time here.

Links

Check the main page for this cruise to read more about my adventures:

Click the button below to see the parts of Copenhagen I visited on an earlier cruise on Azamara:

Click the button below for more information about Crystal Cruises:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.